
Glass 
Book 



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SPEECH 



HON. K. V. WHALEY, 



OF VIRGINIA, 



DELIVERED 



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



Mat 12, 1862, 



ON A RESOLUTION TO AWARD MEDALS TO THE HEROES OF FORT 

SUMTER. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, 

3CMEMELL & CO., PRINTERS, CORNER OP SECOND AND INDIANA AVENUE, THIRD FLOOB. 

1862, 






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SPEECH. 



Mr. Wha.ley, by unanimous consent of the 
House, offered the following resolutions : 

" Whereas the House of Representatives of 
1 the Congresss of the United States have made 
' no suitable acknowledgment of the services of 
' Major Anderson and his gallant band at Fort 
' Sumter and Charleston harbor ; and wkere- 
' as General Anderson's bold and patriotic and 
1 fearless acts have been justified by this House ; 
' and whereas it is an appropriate custom to 
' commemorate and perpetuate such worthy deeds 
' by suitable medals for encouragement to the 
' patriotic : Therefore, 

" Resolved, That the House of Representatives 
' hereby expresses its high sense of the services 
' rendered by Major Anderson and his command 
' to the cause of the nation and the Union by 
' their fearless condct and patient sufferings. 

" Resolved, That a committee of three be ap- 
' pointed, who shall cause to be executed and 
' presented to Major Anderson and his officers 
' and soldiers, who were at Fort Sumter, suita- 
' ble medals, historic in character and appropri- 
' ate in composition — gold for officers, and silver 
' for men." 

Mr. WHALEY said : 

Mr. Speaker : I had hoped that some 
other member of this House would have pre- 
sented resolutions, similar to those now of- 
fered, on the conduct of Major Anderson 
and his gallant band in the harbor of Charles- 
ton, South Carolina. And while the majesty 
of silence may best befit the occasion which 
waked a nation to her duty, rousing lethargic 
patriotism to grand and heroic action, yet some- 
thing is due to ourselves, to Congress, to the 
country, and the nation's history. It is justice 
and right that upon our Journals shall be found 
by the future chronicler of our country's his- 
tory some slight evidence that we ourselves held 
in esteem the scenes and actors which brought 



a nation from despondency and confusion^ and 
almost anarchy, into the fullness of the majesty 
of asserting so grandly the great truth of gov- 
ernment. 

However great may be the victories of this 
war, however brilliant the achievements of our 
arms, however numerous our heroes, by land 
or by sea, there can be but one Fort Sumter, 
one Major Anderson, and but one such band 
of soldiers. A military evacuation, an annoy- 
ing defeat, and yet a glorious victory, a moral 
victory, waking into earnest life a nation appa- 
rently almost dead to patriotism and honor, 
preserving Government, our Government, our 
liberty, and our Union, a heritage for our pos- 
terity and the nations of the earth forever ; and 
God grant that to Major Anderson and his asso- 
ciates may be afforded the privilege and pleas- 
ure of replanting the flag of the Union on 
Sumter, its bunting to wave there forever. Bear 
with me, Mr. Speaker, as I hastily refresh your 
mind with the incidents of 1860 and 1861, so 
far as they relate to Major Anderson and his 
gallant band. On the 17th of December, 1860, 
the convention of South Carolina assembled, 
and three days thereafter, by a unanimous vote, 
passed her ordinance of secession ; and on the 
24th of the same month Governor Pickens, by 
proclamation, declared the State independent 
of the Federal Government. The position then 
was, "war is imminent— peace impossible." 
On the 19th of December, 1860, the rebels of 
Charleston declared that no more soldiers 
should be sent to the forts in the harbor of 
Charleston by the General Government. The 
Charleston Mercury, of December 22, declared 
that the President would not reinforce Fort 
Moultrie, that the forts would be demanded by 
the State authorities, and if not given up, " the 
people will obey the call for war, and take the 
forts." Thus forewarned, oh ! how did patri- 



otism and the spirit of our fathers lie prostrate 
amid this vaulting treason J How chafed the 
spirit of the gallant Anderson, compelled qui- 
etly to endure the taunts of rebels, with no 
orders summarily to punish dishonor done to a 
flag dear to brave and true hearts. On the 
festival of the nativity of Him who came to 
proclaim " peace on earth and good will to 
men," Major Anderson witnessed the unrebuked 
entrance of troops into Charleston to initiate a 
war against the best Government any nation 
has ever enjoyed. 

On the next day Fort Moultrie, hitherto oc- 
cupied by General Anderson, was evacuated. 
The Charleston Courier, of December 27, speaks 
of Fort Moultrie's " busy look one week ago, 
when scores of laborers were engaged in add- 
ing to its strength. Around, on every side, 
were the evidence of labor. The walls of the 
fort evinced a rare degree of energy in prepar 
ing for the attack." General Anderson labored 
to fortify Moultrie, until he saw the troops of 
the rebels pouring into Charleston, until he saw 
that his Government had failed to furnish suf- 
ficient men for both forts — Sumter and Moul 
trie. The latter fort covers so much surface 
that it could not be defended successfully at all 
points by a garrison of less than three hundred 
men, the adjacent buildings furnished conceal- 
ment and protection for an attacking force 
until they arrive at the walls of the fort. Ex- 
perienced military men, well acquainted with 
the position, say that a force of two hundred 
and fifty men, by an attack skilfully planned 
and executed, could have taken the place with 
the garrison under Anderson. The general 
did his work well at Moultrie, hoping even to 
the last for decision and earnest action in his 
behalf on the part of the Administration and 
the country. Seeing that South Carolina in- 
tended to seize Fort Sumter in advance, and 
thus compel the evacuation of Moultrie, there- 
by holding both t i, Major Anderson autiei 
pated South Carolina. Sumter was occupied 
on the night of the 2Gth of December, ! 
and precisely at twelve o'clock m., December 
'JTth, the American flag was hoisted from the 
staff of the fort. The authorities of South 
Carolina, enraged at the movement, made great 
efforts at Washington to induce the President 
to order Anderson again to Moultrie, but he 
refused, and John B. Floyd indignantly re- 
signed. 

The removal to Sumter on the part of An- 
derson, while it was one of the plainest devices 
of the art of the soldier, was yet, in its circum- 
stances, one of the boldest, bravest, and wisest 
movements that from time to time has awa 
ed slumbering nations. General Anderson's 
resolute maintenance of his post until secession 
ripened into rebellion, and treason culminated 
into war, stripped the question of its subtleties, 
the current debate of all sophistries, and com- 
pelled the diabolism of disloyalty to lay aside 



its meretricious dress and to^wear its true and 
odious garb before the vision of a startled and 
indignant people. It was'action, the initiation 
of decision, unauthorized by the Administra- 
tion, taken for himself and his country, so ob- 
viously right that it was not repudiated. Here is 
the first feeble glimmering of a Government, 
the first exhibition that the nation had a Pres- 
ident, and that we had a country. Floyd re- 
moved, with a noble, wise, and patriotic suc- 
cessor, a new aspect is assumed. The highest 
military commendation of the country was be- 
stowed on Anderson for the occupancy of Fort 
Sumter. Fort Moultrie and Castle Piuckney 
were possessed immediately by the rebels, and 
put in readiness for firing on Anderson. The 
Palmetto flag was raised over custom-house 
and post-office, and the revenue cutter of the 
port was betrayed by Captain Coste into the 
hands of the rebels. General Wool advised the 
Administration, December 6, that troops should 
be sent promptly to man the forts in the har- 
bor. He urged the sending of four of the com- 
panies at Fortress Monroe without delay. He 
said : 

" The Union can he preserved, but it requires 
' firm, decided, prompt, and energetic measures 
' on the part of the President." 

The last day of 1860 closed with the arsenal 
at Charleston in possession of South Carolina, 
and strong fortifications in and around Charles- 
ton harbor to resist reinforcements to Major 
Anderson. The year 1861 opens with censor- 
ship over telegrams in South Carolina, with 
Charleston patrolled by military, with the min- 
ute men at Norfolk ready to seize the Brooklyn, 
and with the news at Washington that Sumter 
is besieged, Major Anderson's communication 
cut off, Fort Moultrie repaired, and guns re- 
mounted by the rebels. 

January 5, the South Carolina commission- 
ers were excluded from further communication 
with the President. The one right step of An- 
derson led to Floyd's resignation and the first 
exhibition of self-respect and dignity showu by 
the Government towards the rebellion. The 
commissioners ought to have been arrested and 
put in irons as traitors. Just severity, early, 
would have proved mercy to the people, and 
economy to the nation. The rebellion was 
tampered with as if a political contest or a 
party issue. There was no recognition of its 
sin, its crime, its true char: cing at the 

wry existence of Government; ignoring the 
remedy, not to be found in the philosophy and 
history of politics, but in the philosophy and 
history of revolutions. 

Humiliated under the pressure of historic 
and national responsibility, with little to sus- 
tain him beyond the consciousness of his in- 
tegrity, the hero of Sumter must have been 
cheered by the resolution of the House of Rep- 



;<ry 



resentatives, offered by Mr. Adrain, of New 
Jersey : 

" That we fully approve the bold and patriotic 
' act of Major Anderson in withdrawing from 
< Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, and the determi- 
' nation of the President to maintian that fearless 
' officer in his present condition." 

Communication was cut off between Sumter 
and Charleston ; the paymaster was not allow- 
ed to pay Anderson's men ; early in the morn- 
ing of January 8, the Star of the West was re- 
peatedly fired into, making her way to Sumter, 
and the national flag insulted ; at eleven o'clock 
Major Anderson sent to Governor Pickens, in- 
quiring if the firing on the Star of the West 
had his sanction, and he replied that it had, 
and a special messenger was dispatched to 
Washington , Major Anderson declared to 
Governor Pickens that the firing on an un- 
armed vessel, bearing the flag of the Govern- 
ment, [s " without parallel in the history of our 
country or any other civilized Government," 
and if not disclaimed, he must " regard it as an 
(Kit of war ;" and he wrote, " I shall not, after 
reasonable time for the return of my messen- 
ger, permit any vessel to pass within range of 
the guns of my fort." 

In the early days of the Republic such in- 
sults would have been promptly avenged by 
the Government. Emboldened by the past, 
Governor Pickens sent to Washington for a 
balance of $3,000 due him as late minister to 
Russia, which the Department duly honored by 
sending him a draft on the stolen sub-treasury. 
A few days afterwards Colonel Hayne is re- 
ceived by the President, who in behalf of South 
Carolina demands the withdrawal of the gar- 
rison from Fort Sumter ; and on the 25th of 
January the Catawba Indians are received into 
the service of the rebels at Charleston, and on 
the last day of January South Carolina offered 
to buy Sumter, and if not acceded to, threat- 
ened " to seize it by force." Each day added 
insult to the Government and to Anderson. 

Hastening on, I pass over the events of Feb- 
ruary. 

The 5th of March General Beauregard took 
command of the forces at Charleston for the 
investment of Fort Sumter. On the 8th of 
April the General Government advises South 
Carolina that they desire to send supplies to 
Fort Sumter in an unarmed vessel. South Car- 
olina replies that she will fire on the vessel. The 
Federal Government rejoins that supplies will be 
sent, peaceably if possible, otherwise by force. 
The entire military force of Charleston is or- 
dered out ; four thousand men are telegraphed 
for from the country. At midnight, at the dis- 
charge of seven guns from Citadel Square, men 
. are hastening to their rendezvous ; drams and 
the tramp of soldiers and gallop of cavalry re- 
sound through the streets all night long. Major 
Anderson displays signal lights during the night 



from the walls of Sumter. The Charleston pa- 
pers of the next day hope that " such a blow will 
be struck that Sumter and Charleston harbor 
will be remembered at the North as long as they 
exist as a people." April 11) at two p. m., 
Colonel Chestnut and Major Lee, aids to Gen- 
eral Beauregard, demanded of Major Anderson 
that he should evacuate the fort. At six p. m., 
he replied that his " sense of honor and his ob- 
ligations to his Government would prevent his 
compliance with the demand." Seven thou- 
sand men were now under arms around Fort 
Sumter, and one hundred and forty pieces of 
ordnance of heavy calibre in position. 

What was the condition of things within the 
fort ? The force consisted of seventy soldiers, 
one hundred and twenty workmen, and nine 
officers. Provisions stopped from the city, the 
garrison living upon commissary^ stores of 
scanty supply, the men at work, with little in- 
termission, closing up embrasures, clearing the 
parade, and walling up the main gate. There 
were no elevating screws for guns, and but 
scanty implements. Staff officers assisted those 
of the line on guard duty, sentinels were visited 
every two hours through the night, watching 
the guard boats, with which the harbor was 
filled, to resist reinforcements for the fort. Fuel 
gave out, and in January the officers were con- 
fined to one fire, and were compelled to use the 
wooden structures on parade, and finally the 
blacksmith shop, for fuel. The command was 
limited to shorter rations. One of the officers 
of the garrison says : 

" The rebels landed their men and guns with- 
1 in range of the guns of Fort Sumter and our 
' brave men had no power to act. Slowly the 
' rebels went on until they completely surround- 
■ ed us. We watched their proceedings from 
' day to day, with feelings to be imagined but 
' not described, more annoying to us than scan- 
' tiness of food and fuel." 

Major Anderson g^ve orders for the women and 
children to be sent to a place of safety. The offi- 
cers packed up what was most valuable to them ; 
and on the 1st ofFebruary left in a small schoon- 
er, allowed to take their bedding and a few chairs 
only. Sad was the scene of separation between 
husbands and wives and parents and children. 
Under ordinary circumstances such farewell 
scenes are affecting. When the soldier leaves 
his home and family, the imagination, with 
comparative faintness, suggests the incidents of 
disease and wasting, of battles and wounds and 
death : but here was the living vivid reality be- 
fore them. Amid implements of destruction, 
amid the excitement of continued preparation 
for defence, in view of the formidable move- 
ments of the rebels, with no hope of succor 
and decided action from Washington, with no 
disposition to abandon those time-honored forts, 
what but certain death could have been antici- 
pated ? Few instances are on reeord of more sad 
parting scenes. To them, so far as could have 



6 



jeen anticipated, it was the last look upon the 
learest objects of life. Dearer, dearest, because 
ibout to be lost forever. For three days were 
:he women and children at Charleston, and no 
.etiolation given to their husbands and fathers 
whether good faith would be preserved by the 
Charleston rebels. Nervous and sleepless were 
hese brave but sympathetic hearts, for fear 
heir dear ones were immured in dungeons or 
letained in the city ; but great was the joy and 
;he relief when from the decks, and even the 
:igging of the vessel, the forms of their loved 
>nes were seen, as the New York steamer bade 
idieu to Sumter for that portion of the Union 
vhere the crime of rebellion was somewhat 
inderstood, and where public faith and public 
.'Irtue would appreciate a band so noble as this 
;f Sumter.y 

The work of the men at the fort continued 
lay and night, with insufficient means and sup- 
)lies. They had been without bread of any 
;ort for five days. Under this slate of the case 
he demand for, .sin-render was refused. On 
lay, April 12, at half-past four o'clock a. 
n.. the first she 1 was fired at Sumter. Fire 
it once was opened from eighteen mortar bat- 
eries, and continued until daylight. The rebel 
)atteiies all day long rained a storm of iron 
lail into Sumter. The barracks took fire twice. 
Sumter kept up a continual fire upon the bat- 
eries of Sullivan's Island and Cumming Point 
mtil night. Shells were fired at intermission 
)f ten minutes during the night into Sumter. 
The next morning Sumter opened fire again, 
<vith the men weak and exhausted, from want 
)f food and the strict watch of the night. The 
lavoc of the enemy's fire was immense. Early 
he next morning firing upon Sumter was re- 
lewed with increased vigor. The works of the 
brt were everywhere exposed to the shells of 
he enemy. The barracks took fire, aud so 
:oncentrated was the enemy's fire upon this 
iart of the work that Major Anderson forbade 
ipt XP extinguish it. The fire raged 
he whole daj-, the casemates were filled with 
smoke, which, with the heat, made it almost 
pportable — the men lying on their faces 
ling for breath, the officers wetting their' 
land kerchiefs and spreading them over their 
r aces, and the shells, prepared to resist an as- 
sault upon the fort, beginning to explode, the 
are threatening the magazine, so that, taking' 
Dut twenty or thirty barrels of powder, dirt was j 
.hrown around its doors. The fire still spread, ! 
rkz barrels of powder were, for safety,' 
thrown into the sea. The guns were still fired, ' 
although the cartridges were almost exhausted, j 
Flanti els, blankets, and sheets from the b 
tal were put in requisition. The flag-staff was 
shot away, but the stars and stripes were soon 
flyin ' in the parapet. Wigfall soon 

came to Sumter with an offer to cease hostili- 
ties, and Major Anderson and his exhausted, 
gallant band marched out with drums beating 



and flag still flying. Sumter fell ; but a na- 
tion hose to arms. The Secretary of War, 
1861, after characterizing the conduct of Gen- 
eral Twiggs, says that a striking and honorable 
contrast thereto is found in the heroic and 
truly self-sacrificing course pursued by Major 
Robert Anderson and the small and gallant 
band of officers and men under his command 
at Fort Sumter. 

Terrible is the historic retribution awaiting 
Mr. Buchanan's administration when it shall 
have become fully patent that the Administration 
was perfectly cognizant of the coming events 
of this civil war, that the negligence and dere- 
liction of those in office were of the gravest 
character, falsely temporizing, negotiating with 
rebels in arms without cause and almost with- 
out pretext ; delicately tender of seditious em- 
bassies, most cowardly neglect ing true and brave 
rs and soldiers. The policy of the retiring 
Administration necessarily affected that of the 
new Administration. Scarcely an army or 
navy, and these of doubtful loyalty, the rebel- 
lion grown into power and magnitude, and or- 
ganized, earnest, active, and full of hope ; the 
friends of the Union disheartened, the free 
States divided, the Breckinridge Democracy 
generally for the rebels openly, the loyalty of 
the nation untried, Mr. Lincoln received the 
gift of the nation, with its embarrassments, and 
with the annoyances of the policy of his weak 
if not faintly loyal predecessor. Mr. Lincoln, 
the day after his inauguration, received Major 
Anderson's letter of February 28. It contained 
his professional opinion, concurred in by all 
the officers of his command, that reinforce- 
ments could not be given within the time for 
his relief, rendered necessary by the limited 
supply of provisions, and with a view of hold- 
ing possession of the same, with a force of less 
than twenty thousand good and well disciplined 
men. General Scott and the officers of the 
army and navy concurred, General Scott at the 
same time saying tbat no such sufficient force 
was then at the control of the Government or 
could be brought to the ground within the time 
wheH the provisions in the fort would be ex- 
hausted. As a military matter the only possi- 
ble duty of Mr. Lincoln was to get the garrison 
out safely. As advised by military experts, 
Mr. Lincoln did his full duty. But there was 
a State policy. I can conceive of nothing 
more prostrating and perplexing than the po- 
sition of Major Anderson. His devotion to his 
country was religious, sacred. He loved it and 
cherished her honor as his religion. He will 
have his reward. 

A passing remark I will make to those who 
suspect a man merely because born in the 
South. Anderson, the first and gr^at hero of 
this war, is of southern birth. A gentleman is 
a gentleman wherever found. So is true loy- 
alty, wherever found — true loyalty, North or 
South. Southern men have been loyal at a 



/<fg 



sacrifice unknown at the North ; a sacrifice of 
social position, of the endearments of relation- 
ship and home, of the associations of childhood, 
of local attachments, and of political relations. 
The spirit of southern devotion to the Union is 
the martyr spirit tried as by fire ; and by Union 
men I mean only those who have no contin- 
gencies in their devotion to the Union, who 
place neither houses, nor lands, nor sons, nor 
yet slaves before the Union ; who would offer 
all on the altar of liberty and the Union, that 
posterity and distant generations and the op- 
pressed of all lands may find here the home of 
freedom and self-government. I call not those 
persons of the North truly loyal and for the 
Union who attempt to embarrass the Adminis- 
tration, and unjustly attack it for the pitiful 
purpose of organizing a party for their own 
selfish purposes amid our nation's troubles. 
They are traitors at heart, and need only op- 
portunity and circumstances to be traitors in 
action. 

But what, Mr. Speaker, was the condition of 
the country in mid April, when Sumter fell ? 
The President said that he found on the 4th of 
March the functions of the Federal Govern- 
ment suspended in sis States, all the forts and 
arsenals in them seized and in hostility to the 
Government, except Forts Pickens, Taylor, 
and Jefferson, on the Florida coast, and Fort 
Sumter, Charleston harbor; these seized forts 
improved, new ones built, armed forces organ- 
ized, Fort Sumter surrounded by well-protected 
hostile batteries; arms beyond their proportion 
in these States; public revenue seized; navy 
scattered in distant seas ; many officers of army 
and navy resigned and in arms against the 
Government; ordinances of secession adopted, 
and the confederate Congress invoking recog- 
nition and intervention abroad ; the friends of 
the Union alarmed, hesitating about measures, 
and when adopted, doubtful how far the people 
would sustain them. The property not yet 
wrested from the Government was merely held, 
and mails afforded in the seceded States at the 
Government expense, with no adequate provis- 
ion made by Mr. Buchanan for reinforcing the 
forts. Scarcely a sign of national life. 

In the House of Representatives, when Mr. 
Garnett, of Virginia, announced that "one of 
the sovereign States of the confederacy has, by 
the glorious act of her people, withdrawn in 
vindication of her rights," there was clapping 
of hands. In the Senate, when Mr. Benjamin 
declared that the rebel States could never be 
subjugated, he was greeted with vociferous ap 
plause and uproar. Ratification meetings of 
secession were held in every slave State. As 
far North as Delaware, Wilmington fired one 
hundred guns in honor of secession of South 
Carolina. In Brooklyn, New York, even the 
navy yard was put in arms, in entire force, to 
be ready to put down organized bodies sympa- 
thizing with secession there. There were 



presses, clergymen, public functionaries at 
the North ; and almost the entire Breckin- 
ridge party were doubting about the right 
of coercion — traitors to their country. Thi3 
city swarmed with them, and I regret that 
it is not yet garnished. Mr. Speaker, it will 
not do to deal gently with determined traitors. 
They must feel severely and protractedly the 
force of Government and of law, until the 
law becomes, as of old, " a terror to evil-doers." 
Those very persons are now sympathizing with 
the movement, and aiding it to organize and 
resuscitate the party which has brought all this 
ruin upon us by breaking up the Charleston 
Convention, and dividing the Democratic party. 

And now what was the effect produced upon 
the country by the Sumter heroes holding on 
till the last, and maintaining the honor of our 
flag? The loyal people of the North were 
united, the hearts of millions fired, an army of 
half a million, as if by magic, marshaled, now 
carrying the flag of the nation into the remotest 
part of our land ; a firm country, no more ruled 
over by slavery propagandists and a venal 
Northern Democracy, bowing popularly low to 
a Southern aristocracy for the loaves and fishes 
of office ; no more a nation losing almost the 
name of liberty, and the form of the ancient 
republic ; a nation no more almost doomed to 
slavery and anarchy, ready for military despot- 
ism, aud the fate of degraded, demoralized 
Mexico ; the European world astounded, giv- 
ing us immunity in the future from repetition 
of Anglican insults in adversity, and perfect 
freedom from any formidable rebellion a^ain 
in this land ; readiness for patriotic duty here- 
after, educated boldly to meet the issues of 
coming evens, trusting God and the people. 

The Speaker of this House, on the 4th of 
July, 1861, on taking his seat, well said: 

" All parties, sects, and conditions of men,'' 
* * * * i: forgetting bygone rancors and 
' prejudices, blend in one united phalanx for the 
' integrity of the Union and the perpetuity ot 
' the Republic." * * * * "The merchant, 
' the banker, and the tradesman, with an alac- 
' rity unparalleled, proffer their all at the altar 
' of their country, while from the counter, work- 
' shop, and plow, brave hearts, and stout arms, 
' leaving their tasks unfinished, rush to the tented 
' field." 

The Secretary of War spoke of the spectacle 
as "taking rank among the most extraordi- 
nary facts of history." It was not the mere 
bunting, the target of rebel bullets, the mere 
stars and stripes being fired at, that awakened 
the nation. It was this symbolical interest and 
power, respected abroad, and hereafter to be 
honored at home. The emblem of past honor, 
peace aud union, personal protection, domestic 
security, religious freedom, and national great- 
ness — the emblem of liberty and progress, ed- 
ucation for the masses and hope for posterity — 
the emblem hallowed by the sufferings of our 



8 



forefathers and Woody contests on many a bat- 
tle-field — sanctified by faith, hope, and mem- 
ory. This glorious emblem was insulted, and 
dearly v.ill the insult be avenged. The suffer- 
ings of Anderson's gallant band have well-nigh 
exhausted their number, and the strength aud 
health of the surviving. But can we, Mr. 
Speaker, ever forget Fort Sumter and the gal- 
lant Anderson? Is it not befitting that Con- 
gress should order something commemorative 
of this event, perpetuating it by the proposed 
medals ? From the earliest dawn of art we 
have specimens, now in good preservation, 
celebrating the triumphs of the hero, the 
achievements of science, and the prowess of 
consolidated legions. The coins and medals of 
ancient Rome tell us of grand aqueducts, colis- 
eums, and temples, of the glory of Ctesar and 



the infamy of Nero and Caligula. So let us 
commemorate our buildings, events, and heroes. 
Let the proposed medals be historic in character, 
elegant in design, appropriate in composition, 
and beautiful in execution — an encouragement 
to the loyal and brave, to the young and am- 
bitious of distinction, that they may strive not 
for selfish glory, but for their own honor, 
through and by their country ; her glory, 
theirs ; her renown, their renown ; and with 
such men as our defenders — men of Sumter 
faith, purity, integrity and patriotism — men of 
truth, honor, and valor, our country, our 
Union, our liberty, will be safe. With such de- 
fenders — 

"The Star- spangled Banner forever shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the 
brave.'' 



LB D '05 



UBRARVOFCONGHt^ 



013 700 470 7 



